Lexington looks to eliminate 'food deserts'

Wednesday

Apr 19, 2017 at 4:04 PMApr 19, 2017 at 4:04 PM

By Mat BattsThe Dispatch

City and county health officials have joined a statewide initiative this month to make healthy food access a priority after recent data revealed 12 percent of Lexington residents do not have access to healthy, affordable options.

In a press conference Wednesday with the N.C. Alliance for Health, local officials laid out steps the City of Lexington can take to improve healthy eating opportunities for the more than 2,000 residents — including more than 500 children under the age of 19 — found to be at risk for preventable diseases because they lack access to healthy food.

“The availability of healthy foods in Davidson County is a community project,” Davidson County Health Director Lillian Koontz said, addressing a small gathering of local department heads and community leaders. “It requires support from a variety of stakeholders.”

The increased effort was announced after a series of maps released by the N.C. Alliance for Health revealed that large pockets of the Lexington area are without easy access to healthy food options. The pockets, often known as food deserts, include areas of low income where any healthy foods that are available are considered unaffordable.

“It costs money to be poor,” Lexington Mayor Newell Clark said during the press conference, repeating an oft-used line to highlight how dire the situation can be.

“If you do not have access to a vehicle, those sorts of things, where are you going to go?” he said. “You’re going to walk by foot. You’re going to go to the corner store and that gallon of milk that you might be able to buy at a larger grocery store … it’s not $2.89. It’s $4.”

Pointing to a potential complacency with the 12-percent figure representing those who do not have access to healthy foods, Clark was blunt.

“Folks, it shouldn’t be any percent,” he said. “Everyone should have that access, and that’s what we’re hoping we can get to.”

One program designed by the N.C. Alliance for Health to address those concerns is the Healthy Corner Store Initiative, an effort bolstered by a $250,000 appropriation from the N.C. General Assembly. Through the initiative, the health alliance is working with at-risk communities to provide more fruits and vegetables in corner stores and gas stations, which are by and large more accessible for many than grocery stores.

N.C. Alliance for Health Executive Director Morgan Wittman Gramann said Wednesday that the statewide corner store initiative will produce an increase in buying power for participating convenience stores that can ideally pass any savings they experience at the wholesale level on to retail customers.

Through the corner store initiative, too, the health alliance plans to provide store owners with assistance from experts in merchandising to make healthy food items attractive to customers. The experts will recommend outdoor signs alerting customers that fresh, healthy products are on sale inside the store, and floor markers can even be used to direct customers to the healthier options, Gramann said.

Citing a 2015 community health assessment completed by the Davidson County Health Department, Koontz said Wednesday that 67 percent of the county’s residents were found to be overweight or obese.

“Just think about that,” she said. “It’s a really scary number.”

Koontz laid out three strategies for combating the phenomenon, including an increase in the number of convenience stores that offer fresh produce, an increase in the number of vendors who offer health food options in locations like community ball fields, and an increase in the number of venues that sell locally sourced produce.

Koontz said the Health Department also plans to educate more students in the county about the importance of developing healthy eating habits.

“In order to assist our neighbors,” Koontz said, “we here in Lexington need to prioritize the accessibility of healthy foods for everyone.”

Mat Batts can be reached at (336) 249-3981, ext. 227, or at mat.batts@the-dispatch.com. Follow Mat on Twitter: @LexDispatchMB